Introducing a Revolutionary Line of Eco-Friendly Plaques

As 2009 is well under way, our environmental changes are starting to take a new twist. If you recall from previous posts, we made great strides in 2008 to reduce our environmental impact. We retrofitted our lighting system, reduced our heating/cooling usage and greatly improved our recycling system. Although these changes are to be celebrated, it is not enough.

I am frustrated by the awards industry’s lack of sensitivity when it comes to the products that are sold and the way they are packaged. Changing this will be a major focus for Trophies2go.com in the coming year. Look for us to be a leader in locating and supporting suppliers that care about the impact that we make on earth.

To start this quest, I am proud to announce a new exclusive partnership between Trophies2go.com and Strasser Woodenworks of Woodinville, Washington. Our partnership will enable us to sell environmentally friendly plaques through our retail channels as well as the possibility of distributing these plaques to other awards distributors and retailers. I am extremely excited about this line of plaques for several reasons including; their superior quality, amazing colors, and most importantly the sustainable source they come from. The American Cherry used in these plaques comes from forest certified sources and meets the standards of the sustainable forest initiative.

In producing the wood plaques, Strasser adheres to a lean manufacturing concept that minimizes production time and eliminates the need for excess warehouse storage. They are also located very close to the Trophies2go.com production facility. All of these factors combine to help minimize the carbon footprint caused by these plaques. Additional environmental benefits from these plaques include; no Formaldehyde added, high-efficiency staining process, 100% recyclable, and made in the USA.

We are proud to be a leader in environmental change in the awards industry. This is one additional step in our quest to be the national leader of meaningful recognition.

If you are interested in viewing this new line of eco-friendly plaques, please visit trophies2go.com/eco-plaques.

If you are an awards retailer or distributor, please don’t hesitate to email me at jeff@trophies2go.com for more information and pricing.

Why I Attend the Awards and Recognition (ARA) Trade Show

The Awards and Recognition Association (ARA) trade show is held once a year in Las Vegas at the end of February. While it focuses on new products and innovations in the awards industry, I get more out of it than most. Don’t get me wrong, I want to know what new products are out there. We handpick some our products throughout the year, but most of our product selection does come from the show. I also use the show as an opportunity to select new vendors. I use a process that dives deeper than just what products are offered. I like to know what a vendor offers with regards to; terms of service, order processing times, shipping times, guarantees, and if they offer volume pricing opportunities. I typically select 2-3 new vendors to test-drive. I feel fortunate if one of these turns out to be a long-term supplier for us.

The purpose of this post, however, is to dive deeper into what I get out of the show. I feel like there are 4 additional reasons that make this trade show worth while. They include the state of the industry, education, giving back, and camaraderie.

General feel on the state of the industry
For lack of a better term, I like to view this as ‘trends’. What is happening now that is new? What are the latest and greatest products and tools? What pains suppliers and other retailers? I feel this is important to me because it enables me to be aware. It helps me adjust to what others are doing to be successful and what I can avoid. This can affect my business as it enables us to provide leading products and services to our customers. If I didn’t attend (and a lot of people don’t), I would be doing a disservice to my customers by putting my business on cruise control and not trying to improve.
Education
Continuing my education is also an important benefit to attending the show. Although I have attended dozens of seminars in the past, I can never get enough. There are always small nuggets of information that I get from the seminars. They also serve as a way to get to know other retailers and see how they approach business. This can be eye opening at times, since there is a wide-range of business people at the education seminars. Nevertheless, there is always something to be learned – either from the seminar or the attendees.
Giving Back
I also feel since the Awards and Recognition Association has provided so much for me in the past, the least I can do is give back. I do this by being actively engaged with fellow retailers. I don’t know everything by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have 20+ of years in the industry. I have a lot of experience when it comes to growing an awards business, issues with employees, customer satisfaction issues, and more. To share some of these experiences with the end result being someone else’s life being easier is a great honor.
Camaraderie
Fun, Fellowship, Friendship. I really cannot fully express the camaraderie piece well, but only to say that being in the company of individuals in the same industry is heart-warming. Whether on the show floor, in a seminar, or (my favorite) after-hours socialization, it is nice to spend a couple of days with people who understand what you do, how you do it, and what you go through.

Whether you are a fellow ARA member or one of our customers, I hope you have enjoyed reading what I get out of attending the ARA trade show. It is less than a week away and should be a blast!

As always, I invite you to visit our online awards website or local website to learn more about our company, products and services.